


Building New Beginnings

by yazzzles



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anniversary, Bobby doesn't exist in this verse, Established Relationship, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Kissing, Luke's a simp and everyone knows it, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, including Luke, pls send help, sorry I'm definitely projecting, what are tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 13:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30073089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yazzzles/pseuds/yazzzles
Summary: “Nothing I think of is good enough, or special enough, or within a scope of not literally just giving her the world.” Now Luke was pacing.Alex just looked on, “Hey stop, that’s my thing! You can’t be the drummer and have the anxiety too!” His concern was evident, even through his sarcastic exasperation.If Luke’s side eyed glare was any indication, he didn’t appreciate it. But Reggie definitely did, as he leant over to high five the blonde. Alex will take what he can get.OR: Luke and Julie's 3 year anniversary is coming up and he wants to make it special. But how?Basically Luke Patterson being a simp for 5,300 words
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Ray Molina & Luke Patterson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 85





	Building New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there friends! This is my first time writing, like, anything that gets seen by strangers? So first fanfiction in the fandom, first fanfiction on AO3, and first (completed) fanfiction, period. The show inspired me to start writing again and so here we are, throwing this out into the void. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy, xxx!

_Think, Luke, think._

It was coming up on his and Julie’s three year anniversary and he wanted to get her something good, something really special. And he spent the better part of the last few months trying to think of something on his own but to no avail.

He started repeatedly banging his head against the studio table, hopefully jostling whatever remaining creative juices he had left.

“Woah there, tiger,” Reggie cautioned, his hand intercepting Luke’s forehead before the sixth iteration of the new percussion beat.

Luke peered up to see Reggie and Alex standing next to him, slightly concerned, yet still amused. Luke tried to give them his best death glare eyes. 

“You trying to replace me as drummer?” Alex hand across his heart, feigning offense. “If you wanted me to leave the band, all you had to do was ask nicely.” He finished sweetly, cheesing it up.

“I might ask you - not so nicely - to leave now, if you're not careful”. Luke clipped through gritted teeth.

“Still haven’t figured out what to do for Jules?” Reggie finally let go of Luke’s head, moving his hand to rub comforting circles on his back.

“AGGGHHHH.” Luke groaned in frustration. If thoughts could be a keysmash, this would be it.

“Nothing I think of is good enough, or special enough, or within a scope of not literally just giving her the world.” Now Luke was pacing.

Alex just looked on, “Hey stop, that’s my thing! You can’t be the drummer and have the anxiety too!” His concern was evident, even through his sarcastic exasperation.

If Luke’s side eyed glare was any indication, he didn’t appreciate it. But Reggie definitely did, as he leant over to high five the blonde. Alex will take what he can get.

“But seriously though, dude, you okay? I’ve never seen you this anxious for anything, like, ever. ” Alex continued on, worried.

Luke breathed out a huge sigh. “I just want everything to be perfect because she’s perfect. She makes my world brighter, she makes my heart beat faster, she makes everything better, and she just makes me feel complete. She deserves ultimate perfection.” He could feel his face go red with his sudden admission, trying to hide the blush from his friends, but failing miserably.

Alex and Reggie exchanged a look between them from their spots on the couch. Luke wasn’t usually a “feelings” guy. But Julie did something to him, and the last three years have been mainly Luke panicking he wasn’t good enough, that he was going to mess things up, and just feeling all sorts of feelings towards this girl. 

Alex broke off the unspoken conversation and turned back to Luke, “So why don’t you write her a song and tell her all that?” He knew Luke expressed his feelings best in lyrics. Why do you think Sunset Curve and Julie and the Phantoms had so many bangers? Mastermind Luke and his inability to normally handle any type of emotion.

Luke shook his head as he resumed pacing, waving Alex off flippantly “Nah, I did that last year.” And Luke wanted to stay fresh, not set a precedent for writing her a song for every big occasion.

(He’s only written her one song for their anniversary, and one song for her birthday. But if he does it again, he’d at least save it for another big occasion to change it up a little.)

Reggie piped up optimistically, “What about something she never had as a kid growing up? Like something she always wanted but never got? That could be sweet.”

Luke paused to consider him, head tilted like a puppy. “Like a puppy?” He asked ironically.

“Yes!” Reggie said excitedly.

“No!” Alex said right after. Reggie deflated.

“Reg, the intent was there, but no,” he placed a hand placatingly on his knee. He turned back to Luke, “Something like that, but think a little harder, more sentimental. Has she ever brought up something to you that she had wanted when she was younger, a toy or a gift she never got? If you could figure that out and make that part of your plan…” he trailed off, hoping Luke understood where he was going with this.

He looked deep in thought, but quickly snapped his fingers as a lightbulb went off in his head. 

“I got it!” He jumped up and ran over to Reggie and Alex, pressing a kiss to both of their heads before basically sprinting out of the studio.

The boys stared after his retreating figure before Alex stared long and hard at Reggie.

“A puppy? Really?” 

Reggie scoffed and just held his hands up in defense. Luke had asked him for help, it didn’t mean he couldn’t project his desires onto him.

Alex shook his head and nudged Reggie in the direction of the house, “Let’s just go see if Ray needs any help getting ready for the surprise party this weekend.” 

~

When Luke truly thought about it, he would do anything for Julie. If she asked him to reach up and collect all the stars in the sky, he would damn well try without a second thought.

And that’s how he found himself at Build-a-Bear Workshop, surrounded by dozens of small children milling about the store.

He stuck out like a sore thumb. There he was, all 5’7” of him, in a flannel and beanie, the only one above the age of 13 that didn’t have a small human with him. A nearby worker must have sensed his uneasiness because she walked over to him, “Can I help you? You look lost.” She shot him an encouraging smile.

Luke continued to just glance around the store before giving her a sheepish look. “How can you tell?”

She chuckled softly before speaking again. “Well, first you go there to pick out the outside of the bear,” she started, pointing to the right side of the store. “Then you pick out their outfit and accessories to your heart’s content.” She kept pointing at all the various areas. Luke figured this was easy enough.

“Once you get all that, you get to stuff it, put in your bear’s heart, and voila.” She flourished. 

“Is there a way to add a recorded message to the bear? Like make it a talking one or something?” He wasn’t originally planning on this but hey, _it’s now or never, right?_

“Yep, right over there” she was pointing to a station in the far corner of the room.

“Okay, okay. Cool.” Luke didn’t know why he was nervous. He’s an adult. A fully functioning adult. In a rock band. With a beautiful girlfriend.

He could do this.

Luke walked over and looked at all the possible skins before one caught his eye. The bin was all the way at the end, mostly left untouched, filled with a muted orange fabric. He turned it over in his hands and saw fluffy green spikes down the back. Huh, a dinosaur bear. 

His eyes lit up as he thought about how it was the same color as his favorite beanie (really Julie’s, now, because she stole it from him and even he could admit that she looked cuter in it than him) but also about how Julie would get a kick out of it for the sheer fact that she calls him a dinosaur because he’s an old soul that lives for classic music and doesn’t understand technology. 

It was perfect.

He wandered over to the outfits and was initially overwhelmed at how many choices he had. Sports uniforms, beach attire, princess dresses, even pajamas, and Luke just stared on in wonder, trying to find what he was looking for. Finally, his eyes landed on the “formal” section of the bear outfits and settled on the one that looked vaguely similar to what was in his closet right now. He even found a little flower he could strap onto the dinosaur’s hand. _That’ll do_ , he thought.

Then he turned his sights on the area of the store where you recorded the messages to put in your bear. He wanted to record himself singing his part of Perfect Harmony, their first duet in the band, but you were only allowed to record 20-seconds worth of sound. Besides, she would always be able to listen to the full version of their music. _So something short and sweet that she could cherish forever, no pressure._

Even though he decided to go with the simplest recording, he kept having to re-record because there was always something wrong with it. He didn’t like his inflection in the first one, his voice cracked on the third one, and there was a faint yell in the fifth one. Finally though, he got one that he deemed to be perfect enough for posterity.

He finished the stuffing and and heart inserting without much fuss and soon he went on his way. He may have even done the little dance they tell the children to do, but that was going to stay his little secret.

Luke returned back to the studio to keep Julie’s present there for temporary safe keeping. The boys basically lived there now, Luke claiming a corner of the loft for some of his stuff. He draped some spare flannels over top to hide it.

He checked his watch. He still had some time before Julie was gonna be home from her girls day with Flynn and before band practice was scheduled. Luke decided to see if anyone was home, and walked through the front door of the Molina house. He still felt like he needed to knock to announce his arrival, but Ray had made it clear from the very beginning that “mi casa es su casa” and the door was always unlocked. 

He rapped his fingertips twice on the door frame as he entered, his signature entrance. Alex’s was a quick one-two-three drum imitation, while Reggie just yelled ‘Howdy’. It was a system that had been crafted over time but now everyone knew it.

“Luke, I’m in the kitchen!” Ray’s voice rang out.

Luke peered into the kitchen to see Ray at the island, hunched over his laptop, probably editing photos for work. Ray looked up then and beckoned him in as he shut his laptop down, “You’re here early, the boys said you’d be out running errands until band practice and they went down to the boardwalk to wait for Julie and Flynn. I actually have to leave soon to pick up Carlos from baseball...but I can’t find my...” Ray trailed off as he spun around, looking for something.

“Your car keys are on the table by the front door,” Luke supplied, “I saw them when I walked in.”

Ray just chuckled to himself, “ _Gracias_ _mijo,_ what would I do without you.” He started gathering up a few more things around the kitchen, while Luke stood around awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

“Luke, are you feeling okay?” Ray had stopped in front of the boy, staring at him intently.

“Yeah,” Luke tried to keep his voice as calm as possible, “Yeah, why? Do I look like I'm sick?”

_I feel like I’m gonna be sick._

“No, no, that’s not it. Something’s bothering you, I can tell. Parent’s intuition.” Ray said confidently.

Luke shrank into himself. _Why do people need to be so perceptive today, was he always that easy to read?_ He decided to table that for another day. But Ray was right, something was bothering him. And the only person that could fix it was right in front of him.

After a few moments, Luke questioned timidly, “Can I ask you something?”

“Ask away _._ ” Ray immediately answered, and he sat and listened to Luke’s anxiety ramble, offering his advice and supplying his dad quips when appropriate. But when all was said and done, Ray just pulled him into a hug, which Luke graciously accepted.

Which was how Alex had found them, when he walked in a few minutes later.

Upon seeing Luke, Alex sighed a breath of relief. “Great, you’re here. Reggie is waiting in the studio and we wanted to run through this section of the new song before Julie gets here.” He had rushed through his entrance so as he took a breath, he turned back and drummed the door frame three times before returning to face the kitchen. Taking in Luke and Ray’s intense vibes, “Sorry,” he backpedaled and glanced between them and the front door, “Was I interrupting something? I can leave?” He jerked his thumb back in the direction he came from.

“No, no you’re fine! Luke had a last minute question, about the um… surprise party this weekend. Just wanted to get all final details ironed out. But we should be good to go?” Ray turned to Luke, one eyebrow raised.

Luke just smiled at him, “Yeah, we’re good to go.”

Ray clapped him on the back as he turned to leave, “Alright, you boys have fun, I’m gonna be late to pick up Carlos at baseball, dinner’s at 7:30pm tonight, if you guys are staying!” Ray walked out the door, patting Alex on the back as he walked by him. The invitation was mostly a formality at this point, as the boys stayed over for dinner most nights. The Molina house and family was becoming a nice reprieve from their own households, and Ray really didn’t mind their company. Besides, they kept Carlos out of trouble and brought his girl back, so it was the least he could do.

“I heard Tia is bringing pasteles tonight!” Luke slung his arm around Alex as they shut the door behind them and made their way back towards the studio.

~

By the time Saturday had rolled around, Luke was a ball of nervous energy. The day needed to be perfect — but there was so much planned that Luke just only hoped everything would just be chill.

The anniversary flowers he ordered were delivered without a hitch. Since Luke was just meeting Julie for a early dinner, before coming back to watch a movie, he decided to surprise her in the morning with 3 dozen flowers; one dozen for each year of their relationship: a dozen yellow tulips, a dozen purple dahlias, and a dozen white and orange daffodils. 

When Julie had walked downstairs, she froze on the steps just staring in awe at the flowers adorning the kitchen table. When she had recovered, she walked over and read the note that was laying on the counter in between the bouquets.  
  


 _Happy 3rd Anniversary, Jules!  
_ _Thanks for putting up with me for so long :)  
_ _Can’t wait to see you tonight for our date! Love you!  
  
_ _P.S. these all have meaning, but I can tell you later ;)_

_XxXx, L_

  
She shook her head fondly, wondering how she got so lucky to have him in her life. 

The next few hours passed by, fairly uneventful. Julie mainly texted Flynn, as apparently everyone else was busy and off doing other things. Her dad and Carlos were out with Tia, shopping for new clothes, the boys were out for a day on the boardwalk, which left her alone to her own devices. 

What Julie didn’t know is that Tia, Carlos, and Ray were buying last minute party supplies, and Alex and Reggie spent the day trying to distract Luke from all the nerves as he was much, much antsier than normal. As a group, they had appointed Flynn to keep Julie in the house and occupied while they carried on in secret.

As date time approached, Flynn came over to help pick out Julie’s outfit, because not only was it an anniversary dinner, but it was also this really upscale restaurant they’ve been wanting to go to forever. After going through nearly Julie’s entire closet, they settled on a body hugging shimmery silver and black striped dress, with a deep cut in the back. Julie had gotten it as a birthday present a few weeks back but hadn’t had a chance to wear it out yet. To complete the look, the girls had decided to pull together Julie’s wild curly hair into a loose ponytail, her curls cascading down her back. 

While the girls were upstairs, Ray, Carlos, and Tia had all come back from shopping, but had only brought in their decoy bag, an Old Navy one that they had lying around in which they just put a few of Carlos’ shirts, you know, in case Julie asked. The rest of the surprise party stuff was in the car, hidden away to be set up before the couple got back from dinner.

At 6:45pm sharp, the doorbell rang, Luke on the other end of it. He was dressed in dark gray button down and khakis, with a blue suit jacket hanging open. He and Alex had worked on (read: bought) it the week prior to make sure Luke was, as Alex called it, “anniversary dinner appropriate”. 

“I’m coming!” Julie had called down the stairs, after fidgeting with her hair. She excitedly rushed as fast as she could down the stairs, Flynn leisurely walking down behind her.

“Hey, _mija_ , don’t hurt yourself! Luke will still be there, don’t worry!” Ray joked with his daughter. He knew they were both excited but it wasn’t worth an injury, especially because of what they all had planned.

Julie just rolled her eyes as she went to answer the door to a giddy, yet excited, Luke anxiously bouncing in his shoes. 

As she opened the door, Luke took in what he saw before him and was left speechless. He felt his mouth go dry at the sight of Julie in her dress, the light behind her casting a halo around her head, a true angel— his angel. He felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her, and he did just that, pressing his lips to her chastely, knowing her family was right behind the door, but he poured as much emotion as possible in that one kiss. 

“Well hi to you too,” Julie said softly, a smile on her face, after pulling away from the kiss. 

Luke just smiled brightly at her, more than ready to start the rest of their night together. “You ready to go?” Julie nodded fiercely in return.

“Then shall we go, milady? Your dinner awaits.” Luke held his arm out to her as he gestured to his beat up Camry sitting in the driveway. 

“We shall,” Julie answered in turn, laughing at Luke’s antics.

Before Luke turned to leave, he popped his head into the house to say hi to everyone, simply getting a “Drive safe!” from Ray. Ray watched from the kitchen window as Luke and Julie got in the car, and as soon as they had vanished from sight, Ray turned around to the crew.

“Alright guys! We only have a limited amount of time, so Carlos — text Reggie and Alex to meet me at the car to bring in supplies. Once you’re done with that, Carlos, you and Flynn start cleaning up the tables and living room. Tia — start setting up the snack bowls and food trays.” Ray pointed to everyone in turn, making sure everything went according to plan. He wasn’t gonna mess this late birthday surprise up for Luke, or his daughter for that matter.

Everyone did as they were told, with remarkable efficiency. After helping Ray, Alex and Reggie followed Flynn’s artistic direction in helping decorate the kitchen and living room with purple, pink, and silver streamers, while Carlos and Tia set up and prepared the food and table decorations. Ray spent some time setting up his camera to capture the special surprise party.

By the time 8:10pm rolled around, the house was set up beautifully and they were done a wee bit ahead of schedule. The bulk of the work done, Carlos and Reggie walked around discussing the best hiding spots to hide in when Luke and Julie got there, Flynn and Alex were huddled around the table talking about band stuff, and Tia and Ray walked around giving the rooms the final touches. After their walkthrough, Ray told one of the boys to text Luke the party code phrase.

Now all they had to do was wait.

~

At the restaurant, Luke and Julie were having the time of their lives. They decided to treat themselves with some delicious food, and both ordered some version of steak, while Julie sipped on some wine. The conversation flowed naturally among all topics but they had recently changed to simply reminiscing on some of their favorite days of their relationship.

“Remember last summer when we took a trip to Las Vegas? That was such a great trip...” Julie continued to gush about that trip, seeing as it was her birthday trip a year ago. They had gone to a Blue Man Group show, hiked the nearby parks, and even won some money at the casino.

While Julie was talking, he tried to surreptitiously check his watch, realized it was getting close to crunch time, and began to grow nervous. He tried not to show it, as to not worry Julie, but as perceptive as ever, she called him out on it.

“What is going on with you? We were having a great time and then for the last five minutes you’ve been spacey and you started acting all twitchy-nervous.” Julie cautioned, trying not to jump to conclusions.

Luke feigned innocence, “What, no, I haven’t been spacey, why would you say that?” He put his hand on his leg to stop it from nervously bouncing up and down. Suddenly, Luke felt a vibration in his pocket and read the message preview on the screen.

 **Old Town Road** : I think the song is ready to go!

Luke let out a sigh of relief and tried to bring himself back to the present.

Julie’s voice cut through again, “...are aliens about to harvest my organs for bitcoins then set LA on fire to sacrifice to their gods...earth to Luke?” She finally met his eyes as she repeatedly waved a hand in front of his face. 

“Luke, honey, are you feeling okay?” She placed the back of her hand to his forehead. He never acted this way and she was starting to get worried.

“No--I mean, yes, but -- actually do you think we could get home soon? This place is making me feel super stuffy and I just want to get back so we can watch a movie together.” Luke stammered, trying to come up with a plausible excuse for his behavior while also getting Julie back.

“That sounds like the best way to end the night.” Julie grabbed his hand and squeezed it before standing up and draping her purse around her shoulder. When Luke had walked around the table, he intertwined their hands once more as they walked back to his car, only letting go once he closed the passenger door behind her. He quickly whipped out his phone to text a reply to Reggie.

_Can’t wait, I’m on my way._

As they drove back towards her house, Luke’s palms started sweating and his nerves returned, threatening to get the best of him. _Two things down_ , he mentally checked off his “Anniversary Day Checklist.” Luckily, Julie turned on some music and they jammed out together on the quick drive, taking his mind off of things.

When they finally pulled up to the house, Luke made sure to slam his door shut really loud, as a way to notify the crew of their arrival. He also made sure to fall behind so Julie was alone up front. “See, I’m glad we had dinner,” she said from her spot ahead of him. “But I’m glad I just get to spend the rest of the night with you,” she paused at the door to wait for him. He followed the stairs to where Julie stood, and pressed a long lingering kiss to her lips before turning her towards the entryway. “Then I guess we better get inside,” he hummed as she unlocked the door.

The house was dark when they entered, but Luke reached over to turn on the lights and immediately,

“Surprise!” they all yelled.

Julie jumped a bit from the shock but turned to Luke with a smile (and a little bit of confusion), “What is all this for?” 

“Well I know we didn’t get a chance to really celebrate your birthday a few weeks ago, since Carlos was on an overnight trip and me and the boys were super busy in the studio and we all thought it would be a good idea to get together and celebrate now!” Luke spread his arms out grandly, as Julie took everything in. “Ba dah!” Luke quietly exclaimed. 

Julie looked around and admired the hard work put into the surprise, only now noticing the silver “Happy Birthday!” banner that hung from the ceiling. Her closest friends and family were all there to celebrate her and her heart had never felt so full. Seeing everyone intermingling and conversing amongst themselves, those boys and Flynn, they were family, and nobody could tell her otherwise.

“Did you like your surprise?” Luke asked, suddenly worried that it was too much for Julie. She hadn’t said anything and the silence was concerning.

“Yes, yes, yes, thank you! This is amazing, I love it.” She hugged Luke and gave him a kiss before greeting everyone in the room as a ‘thank you’. Ruffling Carlos’ hair, rolling her eyes at Flynn, and jokingly punching Alex and Reggie, she really took some time to appreciate these humans in her life.

Luke took this opportunity to grab her present from where he had stashed it behind the couch earlier. He hid it behind his back so nobody could see it before it was time. As he glanced around looking for his girlfriend, he made eye contact with Ray above Julie’s head, as the man gave him an encouraging nod to push through. 

_Alright, go time._

Luke went to pull Julie away from her dad, Ray more than willing to stop their inane conversation. Luke steered her towards the center of the room.

“Hey, so I wanted to tell you about those flowers I got you earlier, okay?”

Julie simply nodded in response.

“So the tulips represent perfect love, which is the love that I have for you, for the last three years and for how ever many more you’ll have me for.” Luke took a deep breath before continuing, trying to stop his voice from wavering.

“The purple dahlias not only represent your mom and how much you wish she was here, but they also represent the admiration I have for you and your strength every day. You are so smart, kind, strong willed, and beautiful and I can’t imagine not being by your side through it all.” Luke was starting to get choked up but there was only a little bit more left he needed to get through.

“The bouquet of daffodils is meant to symbolize the happiness that I feel whenever I’m with you, and also I hope it symbolizes some new beginnings.” He was getting more nervous as the words spilled out of his mouth.

Julie started to ask a question but before she could get it out, there was a stuffed animal thrust into her hands. 

“I got this for you -- well, I made it for you, you know, at Build-a-Bear?” Luke started to explain, “You said you had always wanted one when you were little but you just never got around to it. And it matches your favorite beanie of mine, and it’s a dinosaur, like me...” Luke nervously smiles, hand on the back of his neck.

Julie’s eyes start to fill with tears as she realizes how much thought he put into this.

“And before you say anything, I wanted to let you know that he does speak. If you press in the middle of his stomach there.” He pointed at the middle section of the plush dinosaur.

Julie gives him a curious look before pressing down on the dinosaur and tilting her head away and pressing her ear to its center, so she could hear better.

Luke’s recorded voice rang through loud and clear as a hush fell over everyone in the house.

“Juliette Rose Molina, will you marry me?”

Julie’s jaw dropped. “Luke, what--”

She pulled the dinosaur away from her face and there Luke was, down on one knee holding a ring box up to her, looking at her like there was nothing else in the world that mattered.

“Luke!” Julie gasped as she brought her hand to her mouth in shock.

“You are the best thing in my life, Julie Molina. I love you so much and I cannot picture my life without you. You bring me so much light, and love, and laughter. We’ve created so many memories over the last three years and I hope tonight is the start of many more. I want this to be a new beginning of us--I want to share the rest of my life with you. So Jules, will you make me the happiest and luckiest guy in the world, and will you marry me?” Luke’s voice was filled with emotion as he wrapped up his speech, tears coming to his eyes. 

“Oh my god, yes, of course, yes, I’ll marry you, Luke!” Julie basically squealed in excitement, jumping for joy as Luke picked her up and spun her around before pressing his lips to hers as he cupped her face gently.

Only when they broke apart, did they remember that there was a whole room full of people also screaming with excitement, cheering them, and congratulating them. 

Julie looked around, slightly embarrassed, but Luke couldn’t take his eyes off her. He grabbed her left hand and slowly slid her mom’s old engagement ring onto her ring finger where it rested nearly perfectly.

She looked down at her hand, tears streaming down her face, and overcome with more emotion she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him again, a smile playing on his lips. This time, after they broke apart, she ran over to Flynn and Tia and showed them the ring. Julie had spent so much time admiring her mom’s ring when she was younger, dreaming of her own fairytale. Luke knew how much that ring had meant to her, such a sentimental possession that would now always be adorned. A reminder that her mom would always be with her and Luke.

Elsewhere, Alex and Reggie bounded up to Luke, clapping him on the back, giving him some shit about his speech. 

“Don’t listen to Reggie, he was crying as soon as you started explaining the flowers,” Alex said lightheartedly.

“Was not!” Reggie shot back. “I only started crying when you gave her the dinosaur you made for her.” He wiped another stray tear from his eye.

“And you guys say I’M the emotional one.” Alex just rolled his eyes.

Luke just laughed along with them, knowing they were his boys and they would always have his back, especially for times like this. After a few more minutes, Luke broke apart to go find someone in particular.

After half a lap around, Luke spotted Ray putting away his camera, and walked over to him.

As he approached, Ray just gave him the biggest smile and opened his arms to him welcoming him into a hug. Luke tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall but when Ray wrapped his arms around him tight, Luke didn’t fight the tears that slipped down his face.

“Thanks, dad.” Luke muttered into Ray’s shoulder.

“Anytime, son.”

As Luke pulled away from Ray and looked around the room at his new family, he stood there, dumbfounded that his life choices ended up here.

And as he locked eyes with his new fiancee, Luke knew that this new beginning was going to be the best one yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! This fic idea came to me literally just out of nowhere, walking around an outdoor mall. I passed a Build-A-Bear and thought "I wish someone would gift me a Build-A-Bear" which basically IMMEDIATELY spiraled into "Let me just project my feelings and emotions onto fictional characters from a kids TV show I'm obsessed with and spew fluff."
> 
> Here was the inspo for the actual stuffed animal skin: https://imgur.com/WFR1QyX & https://imgur.com/lebubWu  
> This was Julie's dinner outfit inspo (from the JaTP wrap party): https://imgur.com/lebubWu
> 
> Feedback and comments are appreciated!


End file.
